Eternal Night
by taru taru animegal
Summary: “Why… why do you keep hiding from it?”“It doesn’t welcome me."“…Then so be it. If the light shuns my best friend… I’ll remain in darkness.” RikuxSora GHOSTfic not Vampfic! M to be safe.
1. Prologue

Eternal Night

A/N: Ok, since I just barely updated on my other vampfic no more then 2 days ago, and vampires seem to be the only thing on my mind, I've decided to go with my gut and completely redo the concept of unearthing the moonlight. Yup, this is yet another RikuxSora fic. But hey? What's the big deal.!XD

Anyway, this story is going to be planned out, so no random hiatus or wait. Unless I'm extremely busy, or just to lazy to type the story!XD (which, I will admit now, happens from time to time. Especially when I lack sleep.)

So far I have the prologue and first two chapters all planned, so let's hope it's not a complete failure, ne?

And… TO START!!

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The moon shone brightly overhead as two people bask in its ever shining light. It's was a cool night, even on the dry beach of Destiny Islands.

"Why… why do you keep hiding from it?" The smaller one asked, as the other turned away from the moons rays. The other just sighed.

"It doesn't welcome me. Not like it does most… I was shunned once from it…" The elder replied. The younger just kept looking at the heart-shaped moon.

"…Then so be it. If the light shuns my best friend… I'll remain in darkness." The two stood there, unmoving until the taller of the two leaned into the shorter boys neck.

'_You asked for it…'_

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A/N: Short but sweet, Chapter one sure to be up this weekend!!XD R&R, PLZ!!


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: I am SOOOO sorry for the late update!!! I didn't expect school to overrun ALL of my free time, much less my imagination. Then after I FINALLY got my grades up… all of my friends show up. At once. It's a nightmare if you ask me.

So once again, I apologize, and after the long wait, Chapter 1!!!

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Morning came too quickly on the first day of school. No big surprise there, but what made it worse was that it was _senior _year. The year that everyone would have to start moving on with their lives and go to collage or get a job.

Normally, that wasn't a big deal, either. The big deal was, I was eighteen and still as pure as the day I was born. Not so much as a peck from a girl, let alone dating one. Though, I guess part of the problem with that is that I've never really found girls… attractive. Throughout all of junior and high school, no girl has ever caught my eye. I had friends who were girls, but never an actual girl.

Another reason to hate senior year was that I got to be in the 800 lockers. Another thing normal people would be okay with. Only, it was down this hall that a kid was bullied to death, and left to rot in locker 825. To this day he wanders that hall as a beautiful, but horrifying fallen angel.

Granted, I have never actually seen him, but I've heard students who would never joke or lie come screaming out of that hall. Yup. He only shows himself to the vulnerable, scaring them away from the dead dangers.

Once again, I wouldn't worry… If I wasn't one of the skinniest, most picked on boys in school. I was usually called a girl; like I can actually help looking like my mom!

So now I stand spiky hair in all its glory with school bag in hand.

"Sora, what have you gotten yourself into, growing up so fast!?" I asked myself as I walked out of my bedroom and down the stairs. Careful not to wake my parents, I shut the front door and headed down the street. It wasn't that I didn't have a car or a license; I just liked to walk when I had extra time.

I passed by Cid's shop and stepped in to get my regular drink

"Jeez, Sora! Seventeen? Now yer makin me feel old! I remember when you walking in here when you were only a youngen…"

"Thanks, Cid. Now I'll definitely have a great day…"

"Sorry, kiddo. Out of habit. You're not the only one, Cloud had been coming here since he was young, too, and he was nearly ten years older then ya, bless the boy…" Hearing my brother's name was another stinger in my heart. He had been the only one brave enough to confront the ghost of locker 825. When I was younger, he would come home and tell me about that day's adventure. The ghost would show him all the secret spots of the school and how to bypass the attendance system, or so he would say.

Few months after graduation, he disappeared completely off the face of the planet. Nobody knows where he went or how he got lost in the first place. I was about seven when it happened, though, so I don't know all the details. I remember shouting, though…

"You better watch yourself, or the ghost might catch you!"

"Old man, don't tell me YOU believe in ghosts, too?"

"Can't say. I've never seen one, so that's not even a yea or no question."

I set the five dollar bill on the counter and headed out the door. Him bringing up my brother wasn't of my best interest at the moment.

I continued down to the high school, vaguely wondering if I should stop by Kairi's… Nah. Her boyfriend would be there, and wherever he was, I wasn't. He was the main reason why I was called a girl in school all the time, and my once best friend always backed him up. The only one who really cared about me anymore was my cousin, Roxas. Speaking of which…

"Hey, Sora!" I heard as I walked onto school grounds. He was waiting for me by te front gate, box in hand. I stared at it before grinning.

"Didn't I tell you my birthday wasn't for another three days?" I told him, wondering is he had forgotten. It wouldn't be the first time…

"No, I know, I'm just going out of town on Thursday."

"On the first week of school? Roxas, how will that look on your permanent record!!" I joked. He punched my arm lightly and we headed towards the cafeteria.

Roxas is going on this trip for his mothers' amusement. She wants him to start looking at a collage- preferably off the islands- that he can start studying law right out of high school with. Her dream has always been to have a son who upheld justice, and as long as he didn't have to become mayor, or even worse president, Roxas was okay with that.

He walked over to the venders and bought two sea salt ice creams from the freeze box. I took one and sat on the usual bench, laying my head on the large table.

"You still haven't been able to find a date, have you?" I shook the spikes on my head and heard a sigh. Here we go again…

"You know, maybe your just not looking hard enough. Have you even tried asking any of the girls out? Look at me and Axel. I started dating him for the same reason I'm going on this trip, now I don't ever want to lose him!"

"Axel is a guy, Rox" I muffled out.

"So what?"

"There is a big difference."

"How so?"

"How would you feel if I said Axel was a girl?"

"Touché…"

I looked up at the clock. Five minutes until class. I sighed and slowly got up, deciding now would be the best time to face my fears… no matter how much I didn't want to…

…What? Is it really that bad to want to bypass a ghost that for all you know could be your great great uncle Thelma who USED to be your great great aunt!? I don't think so!!!

"I'll see you later. I have to go and face uncle Thelma…"

"Umm… ok…" Roxas gave me a you-have-gone-cucu look before walking towards the counseling center. I forced my joints to take my legs in the opposite direction, fighting the urge to grab onto the wall and scream 'DON'T MAKE ME GO IN THERE!'.

I finally came to a halt in the middle of the hallway looking and failing to fin any living beings that could communicate. I gulped and walked over to my locker, 830, as slowly as I possibly could. Only five lockers down was the forbidden one.

I pulled out my combination with shaking hands, and undid the lock as quickly as I could without making the whole row shake.

"31…24…1-"

"Who is there?"

I screamed and dropped all my books. My bag landed about ten feet away from me, and I was certain I was sitting in the fetal position trying my hardest to breathe. I heard chuckling from behind me soon after.

"W-wh-whose t-there?" I asked, looking around before my eyes fell on aquamarine ones.

"Looks like I scared you a little too much." He said, picking up my bag and books before holding out his hand to me.

"I'm Riku."

"S-sora." I said, finally coming to my senses. I took his warm hand and he pulled me up to my feet. Wait… warm? In a freezing building?

"So, where are you from? I haven't seen you around this school…" I asked him on the way to first. He didn't seem the least bit surprised by the outburst I had mere seconds ago.

"I'm from… the northern island. I transferred to this school after a friend of mine told me about it." there was something in his voice that seemed a bit suspicious, but I brushed it off, considering he was an odd guy in the first place. I walked into English, many things on my mind as I bit my tongue. I wanted to know more for no real reason at all.

He sat right behind me in class, which was a little unnerving. He had that sense of mystery that made you want to jump out of your seat and scream bloody murder. It's not that I didn't like having him as a friend, just the feel…

All throughout the next few hours Riku followed me into my classes like a walking zombie puppy.

Lunch wasn't all that great either, though.

"Hey Sora!" Roxas called from behind me. I turned to face him, Riku still where he was all morning long. We walked over to the usual table where Hayner, Pence, Olette, and Axel were already sitting.

I took a seat and Riku sat beside me. Nobody spoke to him, or even looked at him when he sat…

"Hey Sora! How does it feel to finally be an adult? Your mom still treating you like a five-year-old?" Hayner said from across the table. I grinned and shook my head.

"Not really. She figures if she treats me like an adult I'll drive her to the places she needs to go."

"Naturally. Aunt Saki was never the best when it came to moving vehicles." I shook my head and loked to the right of me. Riku had his head on the table, meaning he was either sulking or sleeping. I poked him before turning to my friends.

"Guys, you do know who he is, right?"

"Who?" Pence asked, looking at me like a nutcase out of a loony bin. I tilted my head in confusion before Riku put a hand on my shoulder.

"It's not worth it. They don't really care much about the surrounding out of their lives." I was extremely confused at those words. Riku was a living, breathing human being wasn't he? He should get the same type of respect everyone ge-

And there it is. Saved by the bell.

"I'll see ya after school, Sora." Roxas called before heading upstairs to fifth. I nodded before walking the opposite direction towards the gym.

Gym was never my favorite subject. I went into the locker room, praising the heavens here was curtains to keep other people from seeing me change. I changed and went towards the door before a hand grabbed me.

Riku was pulling me towards one of the locker stalls that I was sure my own before pointing me to a locker that I was assuming was his.

"You really aren't good with hand eye coordination, are you?" I just stared at the words coming out of his mouth before shaking my head. It was true; I had been hit more then once in the face when I was younger.

He pulled out a clear device that I was guessing to be a mouth piece. I eyed it warily with a disgusted look. He sighed.

"I haven't worn it; it's brand new. I sure won't need it, so why don't you take it?"

"Thanks" I told him before popping it in my mouth. It felt weird to say the least, and he started to chuckle. I tried my hardest not to pout, failing in the end.

"Ish lock stuuped!"

"You look fine. Just promise me not to talk with that in your mouth."

"ou rye."

"Good. Now we'd better go before we're late."

I walked out into the gym and watched our coach putting us in our designated spots. It was times like these I was glad my last name was in the S'.

"Sora Sakai?" She called. I went to sit at the spot she pointed at and watched the rest of my classmates be put into rows. I felt really bad for the people who came after me for some unknown reason.

I never did hear Riku's name get called, but I just thought it might be another one of those where I wasn't paying attention at the time. I was watching the ceiling during the X's… which only had one person in. who, I don't know. But when there is a bird hovering your head, you tend to pay attention to that instead.

"Today we re going to be playing lightening… my way" Coach Larxene said. I inwardly groaned. It usually meant that she was going to be the only one throwing the balls while we tried not to get hit, or in this case, shocked. I was more then happy to hav that mouth guard now.

We all had to line up against the wall while the coach went over to the other side of the court. My palms were practically glued to my face.

"Sora, don't tell me your afraid of a little ball?" Riku said, pointing towards Larxene in a fashionable way. I nodded vigorously.

"Sora, all you have to worry about is the ball hitting you dead on. But that won't happen today."

"How do you know I won't get hit? Are you planning on being my personal blocker!?: I asked him. Riku had to be going nuts even to think like that!

"You got it." The world has ended.

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this shall be Chapter 1… I was hoping to get this on earlier, but my aunt took the internet away from me, so I had no choice but to update at my other aunt's house. I hope you all forgive me!!!


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: here we go with chapter 2… I'm not exactly sure how this one is going to turn out yet, but I'm hoping better then some of my other stories (which I can't even think of a next part to most of them…) so, wish me luck!

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I was finally out of gym, praising the lord- that just happened to be Riku at the time- that I didn't get hit. I was surprised when the other guys in my class started being nice to me and telling me how well I was doing against our maniac of a coach. It was like Riku wasn't even there…

"Hey Sora, where exactly do you live?" I heard from beside me as Riku pulled out his regular clothes. I blinked.

"Umm… just a few blocks away from here, why?" This was a first indeed. Not once had a person I just barely met asked me where I lived. Though, most people I met just thought I was too geeky for liking to read books.

Riku shrugged in response. "I was just curios. Maybe I can come over sometime?" I kept my cool on the outside, not wanting to frighten off the silver haired teen, but on the inside I was ecstatic. I was mentally bouncing off the walls in joy!

"Umm… how about today? If your not busy of course…" I was silently praying for the impossible, but I couldn't help but hope.

"Sure, I have loads of free time." …All I could do was stand completely still. I was more then a little bit shocked at his answer, making me unable to talk.

"A-are you sure? What about your parents?" I asked quickly, not even thinking. I regretted it, though, when I saw the sad look on his face.

"Ah… my parents passed away a long time ago. And ever since I… turned eighteen I've been on my own." Sora was hit hard, his eyes showing the evident sadness in his heart. He knows what it was like to lose a loved one.

"I see…" I could feel the awkwardness in the air and decided that it would be best to break it now.

"I-I'll meet you by the front, then? I'm a TA for the library next." I grabbed my backpack and we headed out the back door of the locker room. Riku smiled.

"Alright then. It's a date." Riku walked away and my eyes widened. Did I just hear the word 'date'?

There is no way that was meant as more then just a comment… no, I'm thinking way to much. I headed into the library and set my bag at the side of the desk. This was one of the most boring times to be a TA at since no one comes in until lunch time, which ended two periods ago. Still, it did give me some time to finish homework or a book I had been reading.

Today, though, my mind just wandered back to the haunted locker. Even with Riku around, I still had to think about the ghost that could easily attack me at any given time. What if he came in while I was alone in here? My heart started pounding in fear. I couldn't believe how worked up I was getting over it, but at the same time it wouldn't stop.

My thoughts were interrupted by a soft grunt in front of me. My mind quickly went back to reality, and I saw…

Wait, what is Riku doing in the library?

"I want to check out a book." He said, placing "Romeo and Juliet" on the desk. I gave him a questioning look.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?" I took the book anyway and opened up the program to check it out. Riku just shrugged his shoulders.

"The teacher never showed up, so I decided to come here and do a little bit of free study. But now that I'm here, what were you panicking over just a few minutes ago?" Riku honestly looked concerned and I didn't want to tell him such an embarrassing worry. I honestly didn't know I was worried about in the first place.

"Ah, it's just a stupid old wives tale I heard floating around the school. I get easily freaked out."

"Mind sharing?" I gulped. He was going to laugh for sure…

"Well you know that ghost that is said to haunt the senior lockers?" I started, looking away in embarrassment. "For some reason I keep feeling as if the ghost is going to come after me… I've seen so many people run out of the hall screaming over the past few years that I really just don't know anymore…"

I looked back over to Riku who just kept looking at me with concern. I was surprised; not once did he laugh.

"Yeah, I heard about that. Apparently there hasn't been just one ghost, either. Did you know there were two kids shoved in the locker that day?" I looked at him with disbelief. TWO kids shoved in the locker!?

"Back then, people normally shared their lockers with their friends. They didn't have to worry about people stealing each others things like they do now. Back then, everyone trusted each other. It wasn't until that incident that people started to be wary about the people surrounding them." Riku looked like he was being stabbed over and over as he told the story. I couldn't help but wonder why.

"People didn't know about the ghosts until about ten years ago, though. A senior was said to have disappeared thanks to one of the ghosts. Though others believe that he wanted to go with the ghost in the first place." I gripped the table and sat frozen. There is only one person that I know of that disappeared from this school. And that person was…

"Cloud…" I looked down and tried not to think about it. He was a distant memory now, no matter how much I missed him. But why would he willingly go with a ghost? Unless…

"You know about him?" Riku looked at me surprised. I nodded.

"He was my brother. He was a senior here when he just vanished. I had no idea that the ghost was involved, though…" I looked at Riku's face as it went as white as a sheet. I don't think he was expecting that kind of answer.

"I see…" His eyes glazed over, like in a trance of some sort. I looked away quickly and remembered the book still sitting waiting to be read.

"Hey Riku, you never told me you student number" I said, looking back at the now loaded computer program. Riku shook his head to come out of his thoughts and took the book from off the desk.

"It doesn't matter anymore. I should be going back to class. I'll see you after school today, Sora!" Riku put the book back where I was guessing he had found it and headed out the door. I sighed. Now I had more of a reason to fear the ghost.

Would he try to kidnap me?

The final bell for the day rang and I was by the front doors like a speeding bullet. I was so glad to be out of the school that I nearly tripped and fell over my own feet!

Luckily, Riku was there to slow me down. Of course when I say slow down I mean he grabbed my hand and played twister with me until I was soaring in the air.

"Jeez, you're like the energizer bunny!" Riku said laughing. I was on the ground and vibrating like there was no tomorrow.

"Of course! No more staying in crammed seats not able to move a muscle!" I got to my feet and didn't stop jumping up and down. This just made Riku laugh harder.

"Well come on then, Kangaroo Sora, lead the way to your house." I bounced to the edge of the sidewalk and made a left to start walking home from school. Riku wasn't very far behind.

We decided to stop by Cid's shop to get something to drink. Riku said he would wait outside, though, He didn't want to be asked about his hair color. I shrugged at this and decided the least I could do was buy him a drink. I greeted Cid and grabbed two vaults, setting them on the counter.

"Whats this? You gettin' one fer your girl?" Cid asked. I blushed and pulled out my wallet.

"No, it's for one of my friends. He's waiting outside 'cause he didn't want to get asked about his hair…" I rethought of what I said and I decided to think that I sounded a little funny…

"Ah well, kids these days. Probably has some funky hair color or a Mohawk." I thought about it and decided that maybe it wasn't so crazy after all. How many people could say they had silver hair?

I set down the money and Cid took it with gratitude. "Thanks old man!" I said, walking out the door so that Riku wouldn't have to wait in the sun forever.

He sat up from the wall and looked at me. "You ready to go?"

"Yup! My house is only a couple of streets away from here. I bought you a drink if you want it." I handed him one of the drinks, but he wouldn't take it.

"I'm not really thirsty right now. I'll drink it when we get to your house." He said. I just shrugged and opened my bottle of soda. It tasted good in the blistering heat…

Only a few minutes later, we were in front of my house while I struggled to find my keys. I knew that no one would be home for another eight hours, and if I had lost my keys I was screwed.

"Ehe… They have to be in here somewhere!!" I dumped my bag out and sorted out the things carefully. They were definitely no where to be found.

I turned to Riku with a horrid look on my face. This day was not turning out well at ALL.

"Let me take a guess. You lost your keys." Riku had read my face. I face-palmed and nodded, knowing that there was no other way to get into the house unless you were a superhero.

"The only other way into the house is through the balcony door… and you would have to be a miracle worker to get up there…" Riku looked up at the tall height to the balcony and started circling the house. He stopped at the pole leading up the side of the house.

"Can't you climb up this?" Riku asked, turning to face me. I looked at the pole with a sickened face. No way in hell I would be able to climb up that and get inside…

"… do you want me to get in?" Riku said, grabbing the pole and already halfway up. I looked away in disgrace; I'm not worthy of being called a man…

Riku reached the top of the fence and pulled up. I watched in pure horror and disbelief as he walked into my room through the door.

"How was that for climbing?" He said chuckling at the front door. I grumbled and threw my bag on the couch before heading up the stairs. Then it hit me. When was the last time I actually cleaned my room!?

"You have a nice room, Sora. Not exactly was I was expecting, but…" He said chuckling again. I was at the point of tears. When I walked into my room, I could smell the rotting cheese of last month's lasagna.

"I'm sorry… I completely forgot about cleaning my room. Summer just kind of shuts my brain off and I don't notice anything…" I was sitting in the corner of woe, waiting for the next random comment to come out of Riku's arrogant mouth. Surprisingly, all that came was a request to play Halo.

"Huh?"

"Well it's just sitting here, and I haven't played in a long time. And speaking of parents, where are yours?" I thought about it for a minute.

"Well… my dad left on a business trip sometime this afternoon… and by this time my mom is usually stuck at her desk writing case reports. She works over at the police department." I told him, picking up the game and turning on the Xbox.

"I see… you must be really lonely then." I stopped for a minute. I had never really thought about it like that before. Of course, besides Roxas, no one had really been there to see me since my brother.

"I… never really thought of it that way before." Seeing it like that started to sadden me. I hadn't hardly noticed Cloud's non-presence, not recently anyway. Today was actually the first time I had heard about him in over three years.

"Let's just play the game, ok?" Riku said before taking one of the controllers and the abandoned soda from earlier. I took the second controller and we started playing. Though, I couldn't really concentrate on it.

Why did my brother not being here just hit me now? It's hasn't been this bad since the actual night he disappeared. Maybe it was just that everyone was mentioning him? Or maybe the ghost had already taken over my body and started messing with my mind. But I haven't actually felt anything like the ghost today. Of course, I wouldn't know anything more about what a ghost is like out of what Cloud had told me about them.

And why does Riku know so much about the ghosts in the first place? Has he actually seen two, or is it just a rumor floating around the school? Why has Riku been around in nearly all my classes, following close behind yet not once was his named called? And what about how the others couldn't see him at lunch?

Who exactly is Riku?

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A/N: Wow…. I can't believe I actually got this chapter done so quickly. Though, I have been writing a number of stories for nearly seven hours straight now… -shrugs- I guess the writers block has finally taken a vacation!!! –jumps around like a hyperactive maniac-

Anywho, flames belong at the core of the earth, so send them there instead of to me. Constructive criticism is welcomed, but nothing too harsh, please!! I shall go write more of everything! –dances around with the flower pedals of writing-


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: Yay!!! Chapter three is out already!!! I am in such a writing mood lately (It's starting to creep me out a bit 0.0)

Anywho, I hope you enjoyed chapter two even if it was a little lame, I know, and I hope that chapter three is even better!!!

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After many hours of playing video games with our eyes to the television screen we decided that it was finally time to stop for the day. A.K.A Riku said "If we play anymore your eyes are going to melt and your skin will turn into mud." I pouted and set down the controller. There was no point in arguing… since the game was already turned off…

"So, you as hungry as I am?" I asked, heading towards the door of my room. I could feel my stomach call out for food and decided it was time to eat. Riku didn't move from his spot, though. I guess he was thinking…

"Sora, what exactly do you remember about your brother? What did he look like exactly?" I was taken aback by his question, but it did get me thinking. I hardly even remembered what my own brother looked like!

"Well… from what I can remember, He has blonde spiky hair and blue eyes… and tall." My brother really was tall. He towered nearly three feet above me, though I was also shorter back then. The thought of how much taller he must be compared to me now made me cringe.

"I was hoping you would say something different…" I gave him a weird look. What would what my brother looked like have anything to do with anything?

"Why would it be such a big deal?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me. Riku walked about three steps before flopping onto my bed with a groan.

"I can't believe this is happening… I was wondering why you could see me so clearly. Not only that, but hear me and even _feel _me." Now my brain was doing everything it could to make sense of what Riku was saying. Why wouldn't I be able to see or touch him? He's a regular human just like everyone else, right?

Wait… Human?

"What are you trying to say, Riku?" I asked. I wasn't prepared for the one possibility I was anticipating on, but I felt like I had to hear it anyway. It was the only way to find out if it was true or not. No, it was the only way to find out if he was _real _or not.

"…Ten years ago, the school allowed the lockers in the 800 hall to be used again due to the overpopulation of kids. This angered one of the ghosts, Leon, that they couldn't be left in peace. He started scaring the kids out of the hall, because normal people could only see the reflection of our energy.

"There was one, though, unlike the others. He could see Leon, and it was like he was alive again. By senior year, though, the person had to make a choice no sane human being would dare to cross on…" I gulped, somehow already knowing what he was going to say.

"He had to choose between reality and the beyond. In the end, he left his home, following the lone spirit to wherever he may have taken him… Sora…" I looked up, tears pooling under my eyes as I stared into cerulean ones.

"Your brother was the only other person who could actually see a ghost as a human being. And the ghost who took your brother with him… was my best friend. He stook up for me so many years ago, and in the end we met the same fate… Sora, I'm not real. I'm a ghost." My palms were sweaty and my legs started to quiver. I could tell that my body was taking this roughly, and before I knew it the world went black.

(A/N: I COULD end it here and make it a really short cliffy chapter… but me being the nice authoress I am, I shall continue on with my story!XD)

I felt myself wake up on soft pillows and sheets, making me assume I was on my bed. I couldn't remember exactly how I had gotten there, or even when I fell asleep in the first place. But the nice feeling didn't last long when a throbbing headache came into being.

"Ow… my poor head…" I lifted myself off the comfort of the bed and headed into the bathroom, pulling out a bottle of aspirin for the hidden cabinet behind the mirror. I took two out and swallowed them, then started to walk slowly back to my bed.

"Good to see you up." I jumped nearly two feet in the air and looked in the direction of the voice. I groaned. Now I remembered why I was out like a light in the first place.

"You couldn't have said anything when I first woke up?" I asked looking in his direction with an annoyed look.

"You didn't look like you could understand anything more then the word 'cookie'." Bunny ears appeared on my head and twitched. I would do anything for a delicious chocolate chip cookie…

"Sora, earth is hailing you and requesting that you land immediately." I saw Riku roll his eyes and I glared. How could the guy go and ruin my cookie fantasy!?

"So what are you going to do to me now that you know I am an accomplice in your brothers' disappearance?" I gave him a funny look.

"Didn't you say my brother chose to be where he is right now?" Riku nodded. I looked down for a minute, thinking about what to do next before smiling brightly at him.

"Then nothing. If he chose to be where he is, then so be it. not like you or me could do anything about his choices. I do have a question, though…" I looked back down at my feet, nervous for the answer that I was going to get.

"What is it, Sora?" I bit my lip. I wasn't exactly sure if I was sane or not, but I was curios about my brothers well-being.

"Do you know… how he's doing by any chance?" Riku laughed and turned his head towards the window.

"He and Leon are doing better then ever. I'm not gonna go into the small details, but just know that one nor the other could be even happier right now." I smiled a genuine smile and hugged Riku.

"I'm glad." I said. I looked up sheepishly and let go of him. It was kind of weird, hugging a ghost, but it felt good at the same time.

"So, why aren't you afraid of being in the same room with a ghost now?" He asked. I didn't even know what he was talking about!

"Being in the same room?" I asked stupidly, still rattling my brain about what he was talking about. Riku let out a long sigh.

"We were talking about the one thing that you were worried that would torture you all day and you don't know what I'm talking about?"… It finally clicked…

"Oh, that! Well… why would I be? I mean, if you're the ghost, and you've been following me around all day without hurting me, why should I feel any different about you then I did an hour ago? All that you did was made it so I understood why people gave me weird looks when I was talking about you." I told him. He shook his head.

"You should really take into consideration that I could easily suck the life out of you. The closer you get to me, the more things I can do in this world. Like the soda you gave me earlier, I could only drink it properly when we were sitting on the floor- inches away from each other." I blushed when I remembered how close he was to me while we were playing video games. Why it made me so bothered, I didn't think I wanted to know.

"So? Riku, I think if you truly wanted to hurt me, or anyone else in the school for that matter, you would've already done it. I see no point in fearing you if your harmless." I said proudly. He just stared at me.

"Sora, I really don't think you understand the full meanings of my words…" He made it so that his bangs covered his face and I just blinked. How much more complicated could this get exactly?

"Whenever I come into contact with humans, my spirit automatically takes the energy supported by them. It's the only reason why I still exist at all in this world. But with you, you can actually feel my spirit, whereas most people could just walk right through it and not get touched by it at all. With you, I could easily kill you just by sucking out the energy that your body willingly transfers over to me." My eyes widened a little before my smile brightened.

"You don't have to worry about a thing! I'm always full of energy!" I said, starting my usual bouncing fit. Riku was laughing.

"I suppose your right. So, what does it feel like to be in your last year of high school?" I hit Riku on the shoulder and rolled my eyes. It was one of the most horrid things a person could go through.

Just then, the house phone started ringing. I picked up the phone and saw it was Kairi calling.

I pressed the green button. "Hello?"

"_Sora! I was hopeing you would pick up! Listen, I was wondering if you would like to go shopping with me, Selphie, and Tidus this afternoon!" _I inwardly groaned and face palmed. The minute she said 'Tidus' it sealed my fate with not only a lot of misfortune, but a lot of face snorkeling.

Still, I hadn't been hanging around her a lot, and as much as would love to get as far away from the blonde haired prick as I could, this was a very rare chance to do something that I loved to do.

…Not shopping, mind you, just… looking at cool stuff and purchasing them at a desk…

"Sure thing. I'll be there in a few minutes." I hung up the phone and went into my closet to find some clean clothes. I could tell Riku was giving me a weird look.

"Why are you going if you really don't want to?" I scolded myself. If he knew that I didn't want to go it most likely meant that I had been making weird faces while talking on the phone again. I did that a lot.

"It's not that I don't like the idea of hanging out with Kairi or going shopping… It's the fact that her prick of a boyfriend is going to be there…" I cringed at the thought and grabbed my black sleeveless turtleneck and skinny jeans.

"What do you think he would do to you if you had a date?" I whirled around with my shirt halfway on and gave him a grave look.

"The day that Sora has a date is the day that pigs will fly and cats will moo." I told him, pulling on my shirt the rest of the way. Riku didn't look convinced in the least.

"I wonder…" He took my hand and pulled me to the bathroom mirror while I was still only in my boxers. He then walked behind me and stood up straight. I looked into the mirror and frowned.

"I can't see you…" I told him pouting. Riku chuckled.

"Not yet you can't. Do you trust me, Sora?" I looked back at him confused, but nodded anyway.

"There is a trick that Leon and your brother found out a long time ago. You see, the humongous amounts of energy run in your family, and Leon took it as an opportunity to test out some things. One of which was this…" Riku looked at me straight in the eye looking like he was searching for something. When it looked like he found nothing, he did something that made me want to go jump off a cliff and swim up to cloud nine at the same time…

Was he KISSING me!?

It felt so weird, having him kiss me. It was as if I had been kissing water, though at the same time it felt like something was being pulled from deep within myself. The sensation was breathtaking, to say the least.

Another few minutes, and my lungs were burning. I couldn't hold the kiss any longer and pulled away for much needed air. Riku took my hand and looked at me with sorry eyes.

"First you didn't, now you do." Riku turned my head to the mirror and I gasped. Riku was being reflected off the mirror as well as I could see my own. I turned back to him and he shrugged.

"Now you have a date." I blinked. Then blinked again. Did he just say date?

"This will last anywhere from and hour to ten, depending on how close we are. Now, you'd better pull up your pants or we're going to be late." I looked to the clock and gasped. I hadn't noticed how late I was running! I grabbed my pants and pulled them on, taking a hold of the comb in a feeble attempt to fix the wild thing that was my hair. I gave up after my third one.

"You ready to go?" He asked. I nodded while fake crying. I would never be as hot as Riku…

Wait, bad thoughts, Sora. You are not Roxas, and you are DEFINITELY not falling for the hot and smexy alluring… FLUCK A DUCK!!!

Sure, he looked good in his green hoodie with a yellow stripe and the baggy pants and his silver hair and sexy eyes… Yup, I need to sleep more.

We went out the door and I locked it, putting the keys in my front pocket so I didn't forget them again. Riku took my hand and I blushed while looking away. This wasn't the shopping trip I had planned on…

We kept walking until we were at the front of Destiny Islands mall centre. I did my best to ignore the constant stares we got, but in the end I just gloomed over every on of them. I did NOT like looking like a girl with a flat chest!

We walked in and headed towards the food court. I knew where Kairi would be since it was her favorite spot in the mall. Up a couple of stairs was an area that looked like an indoor rainforest with a tree growing so tall that it breaks the glass. I looked around and saw her and Selphie waving at us.

"Sora Over here!" She called. I smiled at her before looking over at Tidus. He had a look that either said he was going to murder me slowly or make fun of me until the end of time. I gulped. It probably meant both.

"Well well, looks like the girl decided to show up after all." He laughed and I turned away. Kairi only saw it as joking, but I knew the truth…

Just then, Kairi and Selphie left to get the food."You know, that's not a very nice thing to say to my anything but female date." Riku said, looking at Tidus with a glare. He shot one right back.

"Oh? So maybe you're the female, then? Your hair and eyes match the description." He shot back. I just stood there looking like a kicked puppy.

"At least my hair doesn't look like a cardboard cutout glued onto my forehead." Riku retorted. It was true, compaired to Riku's silky soft hair Tidus' was like straw.

"Oh yeah? Well at least my hair doesn't make me look like a little old lady who just got a perm!" I flinched at that. If that were me he was saying that to, I would be crying. I looked over to Riku, but he just had a look of sincere sadism.

"Really? Maybe so, but at least I don't have…" Riku moved closer to Tidus and whispered in his ear. I watched as Tidus' eyes widened to a maximum before pushing Riku away.

"H-how the hell did you find out about that!?" He said. His face was as red as a tomato and his fists were tight. Riku had the biggest smirk on his face.

"Better not make fun of him anymore. Who knows how fast a rumor like that could spread around the school…" Tidus had a horror expression on his face as he turned in the direction the girls went. Riku started chuckling when he was out of earshot.

"What did you say to him?" I asked, looking up at Riku. He only laughed some more.

"Nothing that you need to know about just yet." He took my hand and started to walk with me to one of the shops. I still couldn't take my mind off of what could've made Tidus tense up so much.

Though, it didn't last for very much longer. We walked into a jewelers shop and the first thing I saw took my breath away.

"That's aquamarine, right?" Riku nodded, and I walked over to the case. I was surprised that they had such a color, everything being hand made. And it was only a little over 200 munny!

"You can get it if you want. Besides, it would match your eyes." I smiled and grabbed the small case, walking over to the counter. The woman looked up and smiled.

"Ah, that one is a collector's item. Have you heard of the legendary tear?" I racked my brain before shaking my head no. she smiled and pulled out a book with a picture of what looked like a teardrop on the front.

"Once every hundred years, a spirit is neglected from heaven and they fall to the earth as a tear. However, they do not look like a tear to us. They look a lot like normal human beings. But in fact, there has only been once where it has said that two tears have fallen to earth. That was no longer then a century ago." I stard with awe and thought about the spirits that fell to the earth looking like a tear. I wondered if Riku looked the same way.

"They say that the tear looks like a combination of the spirits true eyes and their loves eyes. Looking at you two, I'd say this gem is a pretty good fit." I started to wonder about that. What was the color of Riku's tear as he fell…?

I couldn't think anymore when Riku took my hand and lead me out of the store, gem in hand. The woman was smiling, so I was guessing he had already paid for it. When I looked up, though, R8iku looked like he had been a stabbed puppy.

"What's the matter?" I asked with true concern. He only got really upset when it had to do with something he was hiding. Riku didn't say anything this time, though.

"Nothing's wrong, Sora. Do you want help putting it around your neck?" I nodded and he wrapped the blue and aquamarine pendant around my neck, clasping it together. He was smiling again when he was through. Though, somehow it didn't reach his eyes.

I started to wonder more about why he was so upset about the whole teardrop thing. He never really took anything like that into consideration, at least of what I knew of him. Come to think of it, how much exactly do I know about Riku? I had only met him this morning. All I knew was that he was a ghost. I didn't know much of his personal interests like color or sports. I didn't know what his life was like back when he was human. I wanted to learn more.

He had told me things about my brother that I could hardly believe were real. Why would he go with a ghost and leave his family behind? What was the reason behind that? Was it possibly to protect us from something?

No, I don't think that Riku's friend would be THAT dangerous. If he was, why would Cloud even think to go with him instead of getting a priest?

My head was starting to pound and I knew it was about time to be heading home. I turned to Riku and pulled his sleeve. Apparently it was clear on my face that I wanted to go home. We said our goodbyes to the lady's and set off into the night sky.

"Riku?" I asked. He turned to look at me and I froze. I had built up the confidence only to have it shot back down again. I couldn't ask, not yet at least.

"You… You never told me what you said to make Tidus turn bright red." The evil smile from earlier had returned and I almost regretted what I said. He put an arm around my shoulder.

"Well, my friend, did anyone ever tell you what teeny weenie syndrome is?" I shook my head no and Riku started laughing his head off. We stopped and he whispered something in my ear. I felt the crack of my jaw when it hit the concrete.

"He has WHAT and he's calling ME the girl!?" I was horrified!

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A/N: lmao… hoped you like the ending… if you don't know what it is, look it up on wikipedia, because that's how I have to learn about new stuffs in fics…XD

Anywho, this chapter was actually longer then I planned on it being, but I decided that next chapter was going to be told in a whole other place with whole other people instead of a boring shopping mall trip. That's right, next chapter will be told in Cloud's POV! Squeal all fangirls!

Anyways, Reviews are nice, flames are not, and PLEASE!!! There have been a lot of people (I won't mention names) who have ALERTED my story, but haven't reviewed on it. Please review!!! I don't care if it's the stupidest thing in the world, reviews give me the will to write!! Alerts just make me think that It's boring and dull and people just read it cause they don't have anything better to do. And that is what makes me the saddest, cause I do try to come up with somewhat new and interesting ideas! Please REVIEW!!!


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: If this chapter is a bit… unrealistic, sadistic, and just plain not my kind of writing, blame my dramaful friends who just HAVE to come to me as the mother hen. I'm ready to rip out every single one of their hairs and teeth along with mine it's so bad. I hate it when five people, all connected in some way, are pushing five different things on me! It stresses me out, it makes me sadistic and cruel, and it just flat out makes me want to cry myself to sleep.

…anywho, please enjoy the next chappie.

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I was staring out into the night sky, the stars glittering the pitch black canvas and the moon piercing through the dark. The streets below were empty, as they always were during the witching hour. It was almost as if it was a ghost town, but I knew the truth. The only thing the people here were afraid of was the darkness within the dark.

I sighed and turned my head towards the dim lights in the room. The outline of brown hair and a black leather jacket made itself known as my eyes became accustomed to the lack of lights. I smiled at the figure.

"It's about time Riku came out of his shell. He's been hiding in that hallway for a decade by himself, scaring everyone for his enjoyment. I can't say I blame him, but I don't want him to disappear, either." I heard the figure say as he undoubtedly watched something I couldn't dream to see.

"It's good to know that he's happy, I guess." I frowned and got off of the sill I was sitting on. Thinking of Leon's friend made me think of my little brother. It was sad, not knowing where he was or how he was doing. I hadn't seen him in ten years.

"Hm, he may be happy, but that brunette seems like the type that would annoy him to his grave. Riku was never one to take lightly the figure of hyperness." A thought flickered in my mind for only a split second before it rushed right back out. There was no way it could be true, anyway.

"Still, I suppose anything is possible. Wouldn't you think, Cloud?" I didn't answer. He already knew what I was going to say to that, anyway, so why bother?

I watched as Leon dipped his see-through hand into the sea of holy water, pulling out as dry as it was in the first place. He then walked over to my side and grabbed my hand.

"Perhaps the time is coming for us to go and visit." This thought scared me beyond belief. What if my parents saw me? What if my little brother hated me for leaving him? Would they remember me? All the different questions made my head hurt.

Leon could obviously see the distress in my face. He pulled me closer before dragging both of us out of the study and down the stairs.

"Wanna go for a walk?" it was more like a statement then a question. I nodded and grabbed our coats before heading out the front door and into the chilly night.

For a minute I envied the guy next to me for not being able to feel the cold. It wasn't as if I was going to die from being outside, but I honestly would've rather of been wrapped in a blanket in our bedroom. Leon could feel the cold, but it didn't exactly effect him like a body temperature would. He just knew it was there.

Just then, he wrapped his arms around me in a kind of insulation wrap. I blushed, but kept walking. One would think that after ten years I would be used to this, but I think it's just human nature to get spooked when something is behind you that normal people can't see, anyway.

"What are we going to do about this place?" I asked, kicking aside one of the many shadow beings. It was really sad, seeing how a place could go from a happy world to a nightmare in just a few years. What was the world coming to?

"Give it a few more years. The longer we wait, the better the reward will be in the end." I looked over to Leon, knowing exactly what he was talking about, though I didn't really want to think about it. How many people were going to die for-

"The portal is only a little ways away now. Are you really sure you want to go back? If you are caught by any other person you had ties with, I might not be able to kidnap you again." Leon told me seriously. I nodded, knowing that it could be a mistake just to let my brother see me. But I had to know if he was alright, especially if was about to go through the same ordeal.

"Alright, but there is no teary eyes, either. You will be a ghost, meaning you could see someone you really miss but can't talk to them. No goofing off either, we're there on business. Got it?"

"Yes for the millionth time tonight. You act as if I'm a kindergartner asking to walk to the grocery store on the corner!" I told Leon, huffing before glaring fiercely at him. Though, judging by his smirk I was failing miserably…

"Alright then, no if, and's, or but's. We go, visit and get done what needs to be done, then get out." Leon said before grabbing my hand. I still blushed whenever he did that. Stupid arse blood not doing what I-

Before I could finish my thought process, Leon yanked me down into the hole-like portal that led us back to the world of the living. The familiar feeling of a vortex sucking all the air out of me still made me nauseous, but not as bad as when we first went to the limbo land. It was like getting seasick on a roller coaster…

"We're here." Leon said, walking a perfect straight line. I cringed while trying to see straight, let alone move.

"How many times have you actually passed between the two worlds?" I asked, annoyed by how steady his feet were as we walked in the direction of the high school. He looked into the sky in deep thought.

"…Twice? Yup, just twice." I twitched. So he hadn't been to the world before I went with him. So comforting, my boyfriend was…

"So when we get to the school, are we just going to go straight towards the lockers? Or shall we take a look and see who all of the new teachers are first? It's your choice."

"Hmm… seems boring just to stand there and wait for the classes to get out. Why don't we go ahead and take a look around. Who knows? Maybe we'll bump into them while we're out and about." We walked straight through, yes straight through the front doors and made our way first to the gymnasium. I shivered as I remembered when Cid's granddaughter Rikku was the coach…

The new girl it seems wasn't very far off from being as scary. The only difference was she didn't toss around grenades like they were little bouncing balls. At least the glass didn't set you on fire right when it hit the ground, either…

A couple of minutes of watching glass being broken and blood splattering, we made our way up to the science hall. It was funny to see Reno teaching, since his supposed worst subject was science. "And if you add this to the mixture class…" That was all we needed to hear before walking out the door, smoke following in our direction. Good thing ghosts don't have noses, since he just created a stink bomb…

We looked around in all the other classrooms, seeing some of my old classmates in the spots where most of them never dreamed they would be. It was kind of scary, thinking that I could still be trapped as a teacher in this school… then again, whatever pays, right?

It wasn't long until we made our way back downstairs into the English hall. That hall itself conjured many memories, from the wonder teacher Ms. Aerith, to meeting one of my best friends. Speaking of which…

"Heh. Never thought he would be one of the teachers here, seeing as how he so terribly wanted to get out of here. I can be just plain evil sometimes." I looked in through the window of the room where Ms. Aerith had been. No doubt in the world that it was him; the only difference was his hair had gotten a bit longer. I wonder what got him to stay…

"Wanna go say hi?" Leon said, walking to where the back of the room was and stepping a foot into the concrete. I sighed but followed him anyway; boy I sure hope there wouldn't be any fights this time.

It didn't take him very long before he noticed we were sitting in the back of the room, waiting for the rest of his assignment to be handed out to the rest of the class. "I have to go run some things down to the office. I trust you will all work and stay seated while I am gone?" He threatened. I snorted. He was too kind to be taken seriously when it came to threats.

We followed him out the door and waited as he turned to face us. It turned out to be like one of those dramatic horror films, the victim turning to look at the killers. I rolled my eyes at his fake look of fear.

"It's been a long time, Zack." I told him, tapping my foot when he put on this goofy grin. Figures nothing had changed with him.

"Right back at 'cha. Where have you been hiding for the past ten years? Getting a little too friendly with the wife now have we?"

"I beg to differ; I'm no Uke." Leon shot back, glaring venomously at the black-haired joker. I sweatdropped before quickly changing the subject.

"Just around. We were actually coming to visit my little brother. We weren't expecting you to be here, and teaching on top of that." Zack put on a face that clearly said 'kill me now.' Knowing him he was forced into this job by an unknown source.

"Well, when you marry the daughter of one of the greatest English teachers ever to walk these halls, it has it's… disadvantages. The job being one of them. But I still couldn't ask for a better family. Or a better pay for that matter, considering my skills or lack of" He whispered the last part to himself. I looked over to Leon who was obviously trying so hard not to laugh that he was crying.

"Marlene finally got through to you, then? After all those years of you densely ignoring her hints? You better consider yourself lucky."

"Ah well, with age comes wisdom. Or in my case, guts. Your brother really has gotten big, you know that? He's only a couple inches shorter than you. Though, I would appreciate it if he would pay more attention to the board than to your pestering friend, Leon." …Was it even possible for Sora to be that tall? Last time I saw him he only came up to my waist, if that much. Say goodbye to the dream of being the greatest big brother in all of history…

"Whatever Riku does is none of my business. And isn't it up to you as the teacher to make sure your students are paying attention? Hm"

"I can't just waltz up to Sora and tell him to stop talking to his ghost friend that clearly I can only see in this school. Sheesh Cloud, you left me here to rot alone. How could you!" Zack cried with crocodile tears. It seems the old saying is true, high school never ends. At least, not around here.

"You know very well why. And honestly I wouldn't change my mind even now for the decisions I made. I have no regrets for going with Leon, and not even the heavens would keep me from making the decisions I made. Now before I forget, do you have any idea which lunch my brother has?"

"He has first lunch, which should begin in about fifteen minutes. Speaking of which, I have a class that has probably torn the room to shreds by now. You can never trust teenagers to sit put and do their work. It's just not done." He sighed and headed back towards the classroom, a look of pure doom spread on his face. But before he went inside…

"I'll see ya around Cloud, Leon! Don't let me catch you in the vent again where all the kiddies can see you!" I blushed cherry red. I remembered the day that Leon and I had went into the vent just above Zack's head during 4th period. Needless to say I couldn't face my friend for a good three weeks without both of us getting embarrassed.

After hearing a string of curses come from inside the English room, Leon and I made our way back into the cafeteria in which we started. It was obvious that the food was just as wonderful and delicious as it was ten years ago. Yuck.

"Do you think he will even recognize me?" I asked Leon. I knew it was a very big possibility, considering he was seven last time I saw him. Still, I couldn't help but hope for a miracle.

"It's possible. I mean there has to be something he has in his possession that shows your picture on it. And even if he doesn't Riku will. It's all just a matter of how close you were to him really." That really didn't help much. I don't even remember how I treated Sora way back when. It's really sad when you think you might have even abused your brother at some point in time.

Soon enough, the bell rang signaling the beginning of lunch, and students came running from every which direction to get a good place in line. We walked into the middle of the lunch tables and started searching for the boy. I was starting to think he hadn't showed up today when I spotted something that looked so familiar…

I ran over to him and shook his arm lightly. He turned around with a small 'huh?' and looked me straight in the eye.

Brown, Spikey hair that defies gravity…

Baby blue eyes that could easily put the sky to shame…

The innocent look that automatically spread over his face…

Sora, I found you…

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A/N: Holy. Fluck. A. Duck. It's horrible when you work on one story then get writers block on it. It's downright DREADFUL and MISERABLE when you have SEVEN perfectly good storylines that you have NOTHING to add onto. I truly am sorry this chapter took so long. To top it all off, Cloud is just a really difficult person to be! He is nothing like me, which means I have to try really damn hard to portray him as himself. Even now I know I probably did a poor job of it. arg…

Anywho, R&R, and I will get the next chapter done A.S.A.P. Hopefully that doesn't mean in another few months. I absolutely hate doing that...


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